What to Watch: Guide to Watching College Football in Week 10

Let's be honest: Week 10 isn't going to be a blast.

Yes, we have a great Top 5 matchup to start the day in the Big Ten and an unexpectedly decisive ACC game to cap it off on Saturday. But there's not much in between. These two matchups are the only Saturday games between ranked teams, as many teams in the AP Top 25 are out this weekend.

Here are the games to watch out for on Saturday. All times are Eastern and all odds are from BetMGM.

Time: Noon | TV: Fox | Line: Ohio State -3.5 | Overall: 45.5

Things appear to be going well for Penn State QB Drew Allar. His status was in question after he left the first half of Penn State's win over Wisconsin with a knee injury, but Penn State coach James Franklin gave a positive update after practice Wednesday night.

If Allar can't go, Beau Pribula would start for the Nittany Lions. No matter who plays quarterback, Saturday's contest is the best test of a new-look Penn State offense that has been abysmal against top opponents in 2023. In a 20-12 loss to Ohio State last season, Penn State had just 240 total yards and averaged 1.9 yards per carry, while Allar was 18 of 42 for 191 yards.

This season, Allar is averaging 14 yards per completion and Tyler Warren has emerged as the best tight end in college football. Warren has 47 catches for 559 yards and four scores, as well as seven carries for 40 yards and a touchdown. We're intrigued to see how Ohio State prepares for Warren.

Ohio State's offense was in a panic in the second half of its Week 9 win over Nebraska. Yes, the Buckeyes scored a 75-yard TD drive in the fourth quarter after Nebraska took a 17-14 lead, but the others led all the way through. It went punt, interception, punt, punt and punt.

The Buckeyes could also play their No. 3 left tackle on Saturday. Zen Michalski was carted off the field in the fourth quarter of the win over Nebraska and likely won't play. Michalski replaced Josh Simmons after Simmons suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Ohio State's loss to Oregon.

Ohio State got guard Donovan Jackson to tackle over a point in Michalski's absence. A week of practice could be very beneficial for a mixed line.

Time: Noon | TV: ESPN | Line: Ole Miss -7 | Overall: 53.5

Ole Miss' chances of making the College Football Playoff are greater than their chances of making the SEC title game.

At 10-2, the Rebels practically have a chance of making it into the playoffs. That record would include a win over Georgia next week. But this Georgia game is why this could be a trap game for the Rebels. Especially since another loss would really destroy their playoff hopes.

Ole Miss had a sluggish first half against Oklahoma a week ago, but woke up after a 24-yard TD pass from Jaxson Dart to Caden Prieskorn. After scoring at least 40 points in each of its non-conference games, Ole Miss has not scored more than 27 points against an SEC opponent.

For Arkansas, the key once again lies in turnovers. Yes, we've said that before. The Razorbacks turned the ball over three times in a loss to LSU after beating Tennessee, then had just one turnover in a 58-25 win over SEC last-place Mississippi State. The Razorbacks have had multiple turnovers in half of their games this season and are 1-3 in those contests. The only win came at Auburn, as the Tigers had five of their own.

Arkansas will also likely play without RB Ja'Quinden Jackson. He suffered another ankle injury in the loss to LSU and missed the Mississippi State game. He was listed as out on the Hogs' injury report on Wednesday.

Time: 3:30 p.m. | TV: CBS | Line: Oregon -14.5 | Overall: 45.5

Is this the biggest game remaining for the Ducks? Oregon's Dillon Gabriel is now the betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy and has a chance to surpass Bo Nix's completion percentage record with a strong finish to the season.

Nix completed 77.45% of his passes a season ago. This year, Gabriel is at 76.2%. The record is probably out of reach, but we can't rule it out completely.

Oregon has not scored fewer than 31 points against an FBS opponent this season, and the only time Michigan allowed 31 was the Week 2 loss to Texas. While Gabriel drives opponents through the air, Jordan James has 136 carries for 800 yards and eight scores.

A big key to slowing Gabriel and Oregon's passing attack is Michigan CB Will Johnson. He missed the Wolverines' win against Michigan State with a lower leg injury and may not play Saturday. Johnson may be the best defensive back in football and is at the top of Yahoo Sports' draft board. He would be a big loss for the Wolverines, as Michigan likely needs a big day from its defense.

The Wolverines returned Davis Warren at QB against the Spartans after Jack Tuttle suffered a concussion and subsequently retired from football this week. Warren completed 13 of 19 passes for 123 yards in the win. Overall, Michigan has thrown for just 1,044 yards in eight games. And 23 of those yards came on a TD pass from RB Donovan Edwards.

Time: 7:30 p.m. | TV: ESPN | Line: Clemson -10.5 | Overall: 62.5

Week 10 is a great opportunity to take a look at Clemson if you haven't seen much of the Tigers since their disastrous loss to Georgia in Week 1. The offensive improvement was, uh, significant.

Clemson is averaging nearly six yards per carry as a team, while Phil Mafah has rushed 105 times for 682 yards and six touchdowns. QB Cade Klubnik is now the No. 5 favorite for the Heisman as he has thrown 20 TDs and rushed for four more. Klubnik is completing 67% of his passes for 1,836 yards and has only thrown two interceptions since the Georgia game.

The receiving corps is deep. Seven different players have at least 10 catches and Antonio Williams leads the team with 28 grabs for 393 yards.

Clemson's offensive success is bad news for Louisville's defense, which had played very poorly leading up to its win over Boston College a week ago. The Cardinals allowed SMU 7.6 yards per play and Miami allowed 7.5 yards per play. Both games were defeats. In the win between those games, Virginia gained 5.5 yards per play.

Cardinals QB Tyler Shough has thrown for 2,348 yards and 20 touchdowns and five interceptions in eight games. He is in his seventh season of college football and has already set a career high in this year's games. Prior to 2024, Shough had never appeared in more than seven games in a single season.

Time: 8 p.m. | TV: ACC Network | Line: SMU -7.5 | Overall: 58.5

The Panthers received good news on Wednesday when Pat Narduzzi said that QB Eli Holstein could play against the Mustangs. Holstein left Pitt's big win over Syracuse early because of an injury.

SMU is dealing with its own QB injury issues. Kevin Jennings is officially listed as questionable but says he will be available to play on Saturday after being injured in the fourth quarter of SMU's OT win over Duke. The Mustangs turned the ball over six times in that win and somehow won even though Duke didn't turn the ball over at all.

This is a huge game for the ACC standings, even if Clemson and Miami are believed to meet in the title game. The Tigers, Hurricanes, Panthers and Mustangs are all undefeated in the conference so far, so there will be at most three undefeated teams in the ACC at the end of Week 10.

Other games to watch

Duke at No. 5 Miami (noon, ABC): Revenge game with Manny Diaz? Current Duke coach and former Miami coach will join current coach Mario Cristobal on the visitors' sideline for the first time since his firing. However, the Hurricanes are three touchdown favorites, so it could be over quickly if Duke's offense can't keep up with Cam Ward and Co.

Florida vs. No. 2 Georgia (3:30 p.m., ABC): Florida's gauntlet continues with the annual rivalry game against the Bulldogs. The game is the first of four straight games against ranked opponents for the Gators before the regular season finale against Florida State.

No. 10 Texas A&M at South Carolina (7:30 p.m., ABC): The only undefeated team in SEC play is just a 2.5-point favorite against a team that has shown it can compete with anyone in the conference. Yes, South Carolina is 2-3 in the SEC, but the Gamecocks have dropped five points combined against LSU and Alabama.